Hi my Husky Kuda was diagnosed with inoperable tumors Thanksgiving week. He seems to be just fine now aside from the big shaved patches from his hospital visit not being filled in yet, but I really need your help on something. He's supposed to get his rabies shot this month but I'm afraid to have him get it. I just don't know what to do as by law he needs to be vaccinated

Legally we are not vets and cannot offer quality medical advice, nor can we really tell you to throw the law of your land to the wind and ignore required things. So with the disclaimer that this is not valid medical or legal advice out of the way:

Were the tumors cancer or just benign fatty tumors? When dealing with actual active cancer one would forgo vaccines until cleared as cancer and the treatment for cancer lowers the immune system which could cause questionable vaccine response when given. If just benign tumors then giving your rabies vaccine shouldn't bother anything. Personally, if it was cancer and you are undergoing any form of cancer treatments then I would hold off until my dog was cleared of the cancer.

Thank you for responding. This has really got me tied up in knots. the vet said it's a hemangiosarcoma tumor which is a very aggressive cancer. It just sprang up out of nowhere he was fine one moment and on death's door the next. He seems perfectly fine now which is a blessing for us. It's been 2 months since and we don't know how much time we have left with him. I'm terrified of the possibility of causing the end to come any sooner than it would if he didn't get the shot.

Since I knew nothing about an hemangiosarcoma I had to go look and now wish I hadn't. It looks like the prognosis is very bad and I'm really sorry that there doesn't seem to be any good news on the web. Your description of its appearance seems to be typical, there seem to be no warnings that a dog has it ... now they appear fine and then they don't.

Considering that the time you have left is going to be precious to both (all?) of you, I wouldn't worry about the rabies vaccine ... it probably won't adversely affect anything but why take the chance.

In most states, the vet can give a certificate that eliminates the need for required vaccines, you might want to check.

Thank you very much for the reply. I have heard about the vaccine exemption and will look into it further. From what I've read it sounds like the dog isn't allowed to be outside or around any people if they're not vaccinated and with Kuda that'd be worse than having cancer. I have no idea how long we have left with him. Right now, you'd never know there was even anything wrong with him. According to the vet at the hospital, the tumor ruptured. Basically, right now he's being held together by a blood clot. The thought of doing anything that could cause it to burst and kill him is unthinkable to me. We got him 6 years ago from a husky rescue and he's as much a part of the family as anyone else in the house. Again thank you so much for replying.

I went through bone cancer with one of mine a couple years ago. We got about 6 months from diagnosis to when we had to make the call. Meds like prednisone can make a world of difference for a time but they do eventually get where they don't make an impact. Without the vaccine you won't be able to get into permitted dog parks, doggy daycare, and a few other things where they check. You may incur a fine from the city if they happen to find out.

Frankly, I haven't vaccinated my old dogs in years. We don't go places with them where they check. My younger dog goes to daycare so he must be up on everything. I do not live in town where I have to register my dog though. Not sure where you are located but standard procedure around here is if they bite someone and they aren't vaccinated then they will have to go through a hold period to be monitored for signs of rabies. Being vaccinated doesn't remove you from liability if they bite someone though so you only remove yourself from some fines and a possible quarantine period by doing the vaccination assuming he does have a run in with someone in a way that would trigger you needing to prove his records.

As far as being protected from rabies, titer testing has suggested a rabies vaccine is actually good upwards of 7+ years, not only 3 years like vets like to put them on a schedule for, so if he was up-to-date prior then he is still protected, you just don't have paperwork fitting the societal construct.

Rabies Challenge Fund Research Study

Thanks. I'm waiting for the vet to call back but it looks like she's going to say to get the vaccine according to what I was told when I called the office they don't feel it poses any danger to Kuda. We'll see. Thanks again.

They are programmed to say that. It puts money in their pocket to give them and, in theory, there shouldn't be harm in it. At the end of the day though it's your dog and they shouldn't fight with you if you choose to not move forward with vaccination. Especially considering the circumstance.